Highness
His/Her Highness is a style used by various members of monarchical families. It is literally the quality of being lofty or high, a term and style used, as are so many abstractions, as a style of dignity and honour, to signify exalted rank or station. European tradition In present usage the following members of the British Royal Family normally have the right to be addressed as Royal Highness (HRH, His or Her Royal Highness): The children of past and present Sovereigns, the grandchildren in the male-line and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (decree of 31 May 1898). A change of sovereign does not entail the forfeiture of the style of Royal Highness. However, the sovereign has the right to grant or revoke the style of HRH and other titles. As a general rule, the members of the blood royal of an Imperial or Royal house are addressed as Imperial or Royal Highness (French Altesse Imperiale, Altesse Royale; German Kaiserliche Hoheit, Königliche Hoheit; Spanish Alteza Imperial, Alteza Real, etc.) respectively. In Germany, Austria (and other former parts of the Holy Roman Empire) the reigning heads of the Grand Duchies bear the title of Royal Highness (Königliche Hoheit), while other members of the family are simply addressed as Grand Ducal Highness or Highness (Großherzogliche Hoheit or Hoheit). Hoheit is borne by the reigning dukes and the princes and princesses of their families. The style is officially used by junior members of the royal houses of Denmark and the Netherlands. Before 1917, it was also used by some junior members of the British royal house. The style was also once used by the ruling families of the Grand Duchies of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and of the Duchies of Brunswick, Anhalt, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg, as well as by the House of Schleswig-Holstein, which never ruled. Surviving members of these families are sometimes known by the style. African tradition In most of Africa, many styles are used by tribal royalty. Currently the vast majority of the members of these royal families use Highness or Royal Highness, while some still just use Prince or Princess. For example, the Yoruba people of West Africa usually make use of the word Kabiyesi when speaking either to or about their sovereigns and other royals. As such, it is variously translated as Majesty, Royal Highness or Highness depending on the actual rank of the person in question, though a literal translation of the word would read more like this: He (or She) whose words are beyond questioning, Great Lawgiver of the Nation. Usage in the nations of Declan I, II & V The style of HH is only known to have been used in two of the nations under the rule of Declan I, II & V. Although he did not adopt it as his official style, Jonathan II of the Midget Empire was most commonly addressed as "Your Highness". In the Empire of Austenasia, the style of HH may be granted by the Monarch to: *His/her unmarried partner *Spouses of Princes and Princesses with the style of HIH who are not direct descendants of the Monarch The style of HH is automatically held by: *The spouse of the Heir to the Throne *Spouses of Princes and Princesses with the style of HIH who are direct descendants of the Monarch *Illegitimate grandchildren of the Monarch and/or children of the Heir to the Throne. *Appointed Regents who do not already hold a higher-ranking style